Twenty seven months to the grand opening of Expo 2020 Dubai, construction activities are speeding up and the goal is to deliver additional hotel rooms and infrastructure to accommodate the 20mn visitors expected
With 356 active hospitality projects, Dubai?s construction sector is now in full swing.
A report produced by BNC Network for The Big 5, the largest event for the construction industry in the Middle East, reveals a 6.1 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in the value of Dubai?s hospitality projects in Q1 2018. Comprising new hotels, resorts and hotel apartments, these are worth a total of over US$43bn.
?Expo 2020 Dubai is proving a magnificent growth driver for the hospitality and construction sectors,? said Josine Heijmans, portfolio director of The Big 5 at dmg events.
The emirate?s hotel inventory is growing quickly. Seventeen hospitality projects worth over US$860mn were delivered in Q1 2018. Seven new projects worth over US$370mn were announced in the first three months of the year. Moreover, 25 hospitality projects with an estimated value of US$2.2bn, currently in tender stage, are expected to be awarded in the next few months. ?The Dubai Hospitality Construction Overview report shows that Dubai is on track to reach 20mn overnight visitors in 2020,? added Heijmans.
?These project movements demonstrate a healthy growth in the hospitality related construction sector in 2018 and beyond.?
According to a report published by the Dubai Tourism Department, there were more than 680 hotels and hotel apartments in the emirate, offering an inventory of over 107,000 rooms in 2017.
The new projects are set to attract more international visitors, offering a variety of theme and budget-friendly options too, as Dubai?s business-related tourism keeps growing. Last year, the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) reported an all-time record of 3.3mn delegates and attendees, nine per cent up from 2016.
In 2018, The Big 5 gears up to welcome over 2,500 exhibiting companies from across the globe. With hospitality projects worth over US$17bn in construction or tender stages, organisers expect to welcome over 60,000 industry professionals looking to source the latest products and construction solutions.
The event will also feature a rich education agenda with high-level summits and practical workshops. Under the theme ?Shaping the future of construction?, the 39th edition of The Big 5 will introduce the brand new Live Innovation Zone, where demonstrations will feature some of the newest and most innovative products available, and the Start-up City, gathering the next construction tech disruptors.
Running at the DWTC from 26-29 November 2018, the event will present and promote innovative solutions across all stages of the construction life-cycle.
